Almaden Resident

Sports

BVAL boys, girls soccer races are both heating up

By Greg Lydon

Local boys soccer action has heated up after the New Year with several Blossom Valley Athletic League teams chasing Overfelt for the Mt. Hamilton division lead. Leigh (8-3-2), Lincoln (6-3-4) and Branham (5-3-4) all are within two games of the first-place Royals.

Branham nearly took down Overfelt this week, tying the league leaders 1-1 in a tight road game for the Bruins. Matt Kastner assisted on the only goal of the match for Branham, setting up senior forward Kevin Faridi.

The tie was a nice rebound performance from Branham after a 4-0 loss against Mt. Pleasant.

Leland tied Leigh 1-1, earning a upset tie on the road. The Chargers are 0-4-3 in league action, but coming off a strong showing in the annual alumni game and a tough 1-0 defeat against Lincoln. The young Leland bunch could play spoiler down the stretch in league play.

Cam Jung assisted Stanford-bound Adonis Levine for the lone Leland score in the 1-1 tie.

The turning of the page into 2008 hasn't changed the troubles for Pioneer (1-11-1). The Mustangs dropped their first two games of '08, including a 3-1 defeat to Evergreen Valley.

While Pioneer has been stuck in the mud, Willow Glen has surged its way to second place in the BVAL's Santa Teresa Division. Willow Glen shut out Piedmont Hills 2-0 to keep things going upward for the 4-2-1 Rams. Willow Glen is only a half-game back of first-place Lick. The Rams will get their shot at the Comets on Jan. 18 in a huge home league showdown for the Rams.

In girls soccer action, after a bumpy start to the season, Branham put together back-to-back strong showings in league play. The Bruins knocked off Del Mar 1-0 to get their first league win of the season and followed up the big shutout victory with a 1-1 tie against Pioneer on the road.

Leigh and Leland lead the way in the Mt. Hamilton Division with Santa Teresa and Pioneer trailing close behind.

Leland shut out Santa Teresa 2-0 behind two goals from Sara Chehrehsa helping the Chargers pull their record to 4-2-1 in league play, one game behind 5-2 Leigh.

All games begin at 3:30 p.m.